Golf's U.S. Open | Dream pairing generates interest

LA JOLLA, Calif. — If Masters champion Trevor Immelman was not preparing to play a few hours later, he almost certainly would be among the masses expected to gather around the first tee and down both sides of the fairway at Torrey Pines South this morning to watch a pairing for the ages in the opening round of the 108th U.S. Open.

The U.S. Golf Association announced last week that Tiger Woods, No. 1 in the world rankings, Phil Mickelson, No. 2, and Adam Scott, No. 3, would play the first 36 holes of the national championship together. It is a dream threesome that also seems likely to create crowd control issues as the golfers make their way around this seaside course.

"I would think a hundred percent of the fans will be following them," Immelman said Tuesday.

At the moment, the health of Woods, winner of 64 PGA Tour events and 13 major titles, remains something of a mystery. He will play tournament golf this week for the first time since he underwent surgery April 15 on his left knee to repair cartilage damage, two days after he finished second in the Masters. He hasn't walked an 18-hole round since the operation, and only time will tell how well his knee will hold up on the 7,643-yard course, the longest ever at a U.S. Open.

Woods was typically cryptic while answering a total of 20 knee-related questions during a 30-minute news conference Tuesday after playing nine holes earlier in the morning. He described himself as "good to go — a little sore, but not anything I haven't dealt with before. It's feeling better. Come game time Thursday, I'll be ready. Is it fully recovered? Probably not."

Many of his competitors have been saying that Woods wouldn't be on the grounds this week if he didn't think he could compete, and prevail, on a course where he's won six times on the PGA Tour, including the last four Buick Invitationals. He shot 19-under par to win by eight shots here in January.

Asked if he thought Woods was less of a favorite this week than usual, Sergio Garcia said, "Not at all. It's like Big Brown, with a crack [in his hoof] he was still the favorite."

Jim Furyk, Woods' friend and occasional Ryder Cup playing partner, said he thought it would be "difficult to take the amount of time he's had off [eight weeks] to come to a U.S. Open and expect to go out there and dominate a golf tournament as he's dominated golf.

"That being said, anything he does any more doesn't surprise anyone. Last time he had surgery on his knee and took a whole bunch of time off, I remember him coming to San Diego [in 2002] and whipping the field. So I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again. He loves the golf course. He's played well here, dominated at times. If anyone can do it, he can, because he doesn't play a heck of a lot of events. He can play 15 events and be sharp any time he tees it up."

Mickelson, who said he's recovered from stomach problems that plagued him last week, also said Woods' injury should not be a factor.

"He's had huge layoffs and come back and won," he said. "I just don't see how it's going to have a negative effect on him. Players in any sport, golf as well, sometimes have to deal with injuries or what have you. I just can't see a better player make adjustments easier than Tiger. I just don't think it will be a problem."

Woods and Mickelson are not exactly close friends, but after years of competing together on U.S. teams in the Ryder and Presidents cups, their relationship is far more cordial than when Woods first began dominating the game in the late 1990s. Publicly, both players take great pains to show mutual respect and admiration, but there is not likely to be much chit-chat or jocularity once they begin their Open treks Thursday and Friday.

Because it's a major championship, the pairing will stimulate their competitive juices, but they also will be inspired by a familiar venue where each has a memorable history.

Woods, whose last Open victory came in 2002, grew up about two hours north of San Diego. He won the world junior title here as a teenager and played the course a number of times during his junior and amateur days. Five of his six PGA Tour victories at Torrey Pines South also came after the course was toughened in 2001 to attract the Open back to Southern California for the first time since Ben Hogan won at Riviera in Los Angeles in 1948.

Mickelson lives in nearby Rancho Santa Fe and grew up not far from Torrey Pines, where he played many of his high school golf matches. He has won the Buick Invitational three times, although those victories came before the Rees Jones makeover. He has not had much success in the event since, including a missed cut the first time the refurbished venue was used for the tournament. His best score on the South course since the makeover was a 69, and his scoring average has been 71.6.

"I don't feel any added pressure" playing in his home town, Mickelson said recently. "But I certainly feel an added desire because I think about how cool it would be to win a U.S. Open on a course I grew up playing."

U.S. Open tee times

At San Diego

To be played at Torrey Pines G.C. (South)

Times for today and Friday

a-amateur

FIRST HOLE-10TH HOLE

7 a.m. — 12:30 p.m. — D.A. Points, Ocoee, Fla.; Patrick Sheehan, Warwick, R.I.; David Hearn, Canada

7:11 a.m. — 12:41 p.m. — a-Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash.; Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.; Hunter Haas, Fort Worth, Texas

7:22 a.m. — 12:52 p.m. — a-Kevin Tway, Edmond, Okla.; Jason Bohn, Acworth, Ga.; Dean Wilson, Las Vegas, Nev.

7:33 a.m. — 1:03 p.m. — a-Jeff Wilson, Fairfield, Calif.; Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden; Brett Quigley, Jupiter, Fla.

7:44 a.m. — 1:14 p.m. — a-Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Chris Kirk, Sea Island, Ga.; Dustin Johnson, N Myrtle Beach, S.C.

7:55 a.m. — 1:25 p.m. — Mark Calcavecchia, Phoenix, Ariz.; Oliver Wilson, England; Joe Ogilvie, Austin, Texas

8:06 a.m. — 1:36 p.m. — Adam Scott, Australia; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Tiger Woods, Windermere, Fla.

8:17 a.m. — 1:47 p.m. — Lee Janzen, Orlando, Fla.; Steve Flesch, Union, Ky.; Rich Beem, Austin, Texas

8:28 a.m. — 1:58 p.m. — Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Jesper Parnevik, Sweden; Todd Hamilton, Westlake, Texas

8:39 a.m. — 2:09 p.m. — Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain; Boo Weekley, East Milton, Fla.; Shingo Katayama, Japan

8:50 a.m. — 2:20 p.m. — Anthony Kim, Dallas, Texas; Andres Romero, Argentina; Ryuji Imada, Japan

9:01 a.m. — 2:31 p.m. — Mike Gilmore, Locust Valley, N.Y.; a-Jordan Cox, Redwood City, Calif.; Brian Kortan, Albuquerque, N.M.

9:12 a.m. — 2:42 p.m. — Jeffrey Bors, Chardon, Ohio; Sean English, Cincinnati, Ohio; Travis Bertoni, Paso Robles, Calif.

10TH HOLE-FIRST HOLE

7 a.m. — 12:30 p.m. — Robert Garrigus, Gilbert, Ariz.; Peter Tomasulo, Long Beach, Calif.; Craig Barlow, Henderson, Nev.

7:11 a.m. — 12:41 p.m. — a-Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla.; Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.; Justin Hicks, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.

7:22 a.m. — 12:52 p.m. — K.J. Choi, Korea; Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.

7:33 a.m. — 1:03 p.m. — a-Michael Thompson, Tucson, Ariz.; Rocco Mediate, Naples, Fla.; Brad Bryant, Lakeland, Fla.

7:44 a.m. — 1:14 p.m. — Craig Parry, Australia; Robert Karlsson, Sweden; Tim Clark, South Africa

7:55 a.m. — 1:25 p.m. — Stuart Appleby, Australia; Jerry Kelly, Madison, Wis.; Lee Westwood, England

8:06 a.m. — 1:36 p.m. — Woody Austin, Derby, Kan.; Pat Perez, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Thomas Levet, France

8:17 a.m. — 1:47 p.m. — Matt Kuchar, Atlanta, Ga.; Mathew Goggin, Australia; Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.

8:28 a.m. — 1:58 p.m. — Rod Pampling, Australia; Heath Slocum, Alpharetta, Ga.; Niclas Fasth, Sweden

8:39 a.m. — 2:09 p.m. — Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Soren Hansen, Denmark; Daniel Chopra, Sweden

8:50 a.m. — 2:20 p.m. — Johan Edfors, Sweden; Eric Axley, Knoxville, Tenn.; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.

9:01 a.m. — 2:31 p.m. — Joey Lamielle, Sarasota, Fla.; a-Michael Quagliano, White Plains, N.Y.; Fernando Figueroa, El Salvador

9:12 a.m. — 2:42 p.m. — Chris Devlin, Northern Ireland; Yohann Benson, Canada; Brian Bergstol, Mount Bethel, Pa.

FIRST HOLE-10TH HOLE

12:30 p.m. — 7 a.m. — D.J. Brigman, Albquerque, N.M.; Jonathan Mills, Canada; Jarrod Lyle, Australia

12:41 p.m. — 7:11 a.m. — a-Nick Taylor, Canada; Charlie Beljan, Mesa, Ariz.; Rob Rashell, Scottsdale, Ariz.

12:52 p.m. — 7:22 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Vijay Singh, Fiji

1:03 p.m. — 7:33 a.m. — Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mike Weir, Canada

1:14 p.m. — 7:44 a.m. — Retief Goosen, South Africa; Scott Verplank, Edmond, Okla.; Aaron Baddeley, Australia

1:25 p.m. — 7:55 a.m. — Stephen Ames, Canada; Robert Allenby, Australia; Ben Curtis, Stow, Ohio

1:36 p.m. — 8:06 a.m. — Angel Cabrera, Argentina; Padraig Harrington, Ireland; Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.

1:47 p.m. — 8:17 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.; J.B. Holmes, Orlando, Fla.; Brett Wetterich, Jupiter, Fla.

1:58 p.m. — 8:28 a.m. — Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.; Nick Dougherty, England; Jonathan Byrd, Sea Island, Ga.

2:09 p.m. — 8:39 a.m. — Michael Letzig, Richmond, Mo.; Ross Fisher, England; Steve Marino, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

2:20 p.m. — 8:50 a.m. — Brandt Jobe, Westlake, Texas; Phillip Archer, England; Jason Gore, Valencia, Calif.

2:31 p.m. — 9:01 a.m. — Kevin Silva, New Bedford, Mass.; Bobby Collins, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Jay Choi, Korea

2:42 p.m. — 9:12 a.m. — Bob Gaus, St. Louis, Mo.; Philippe Gasnier, Brazil; Garrett Chaussard, Millbrae, Calif.

10TH HOLE-FIRST HOLE

12:30 p.m. — 7 a.m. — Michael Allen, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Jonathan Turcott, Middleton, Wis.; Scott Sterling, Baton Rouge, La.

12:41 p.m. — 7:11 a.m. — Kevin Streelman, Wheaton, Ill.; Artemio Murakami, Philippines; Robert Dinwiddie, England

12:52 p.m. — 7:22 a.m. — Bart Bryant, Windermere, Fla.; D.J. Trahan, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Chad Campbell, Colleyville, Texas

1:03 p.m. — 7:33 a.m. — a-Gary Wolstenholme, England; Richard Sterne, South Africa; Hunter Mahan, Plano, Texas

1:14 p.m. — 7:44 a.m. — Ian Poulter, England; Paul Casey, England; Luke Donald, England

1:25 p.m. — 7:55 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Toru Taniguchi, Japan; John Rollins, Las Colinas, Texas

1:36 p.m. — 8:06 a.m. — Justin Rose, England; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Ernie Els, South Africa

1:47 p.m. — 8:17 a.m. — Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Charles Howell, Orlando, Fla.; Martin Kaymer, Germany

1:58 p.m. — 8:28 a.m. — Jeff Quinney, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Justin Leonard, Dallas, Texas; Mark O'Meara, Windermere, Fla.

2:09 p.m. — 8:39 a.m. — Rory Sabbatini, South Africa; David Toms, Shreveport, La.; Colin Montgomerie, Scotland

2:20 p.m. — 8:50 a.m. — John Mallinger, Long Beach, Calif.; Alastair Forsyth, Scotland; John Merrick, Long Beach, Calif.

2:31 p.m. — 9:01 a.m. — Chris Stroud, Houston, Texas; Ross McGowan, England; Ian Leggatt, Canada

2:42 p.m. — 9:12 a.m. — John Ellis, San Jose, Calif.; a-Jimmy Henderson, Lebanon, Ohio; Andrew Dresser, Carrollton, Texas